A lightning strike for the most part hits an extremity of the plane, similarly to its
wingtip or its nose, then it goes through the body of the plane, and after that
exits through another extremity such as its tail. An airplane is designed in such
a way that it causes a lightning strike when traveling through clouds. Moreover,
an airplane could withstand powerful bolts of lightning with the help of the
fuselage (or the body of the plane), which is largely composed of aluminum
and some other metals, all of which are good conductors of electricity.
Aluminum as a good conductor of electricity apparently have electrons that
move around in them. When no electrical charge (such as lightning strike) is
present, the Aluminum (or conductor) has the same number of positive and
negative particles. Meanwhile, if an external object (lightning strike) with an
electric charge approaches the conductor, the positive and negative particles
separate where electrons with an opposite charges are drawn and the
electrons with the same charge are repelled (also known as electrostatic
induction). Therefore, airplanes are best example of how Faraday cages work.
The fuselage shields the passengers from exterior static electric charges of
lightning strikes and also from electromagnetic radiation, like radio waves and
microwaves, then distributes that charge or radiation around the body of the
plane, and it cancels out electric charges or radiation within the interior of the
plane.Just like the airplanes, cars are considered as mobile Faraday cage. The
lightning flows around the outside of a car, and the majority of the current flows
from the car’s metal cage into the ground below. However, not all vehicles are
created equal anymore. Convertibles do not have metal roofs, which
compromises the Faraday cage effect. In addition, some vehicles are
manufactured out of non-metal parts, which impedes electricity’s ability to flow
through the car.